1. The Field of the Invention
The present disclosure is generally related to bicycle pedals. In particular, the present disclosure is generally related to bicycle pedals and cleat systems for high performance bicycles.
2. Background and Relevant Art
A bicycle pedal is the part of a bicycle that the rider pushes with his or her foot to propel the bicycle. In other words, the pedal provides the connection between the cyclist's foot (or shoe) and the crank arm, which allows the cyclist's leg to turn the drive assembly on the bicycle. Conventional pedals may include a spindle that threads into the end of the crank, and an engagement body on which the foot rests. The engagement body is usually free to rotate with respect to the spindle. There are several variations and styles of pedals, including: flat and platform pedals, strap pedals, and clip-in pedals.
Traditionally, flat or platform pedals may be relatively large and have a flat area on which the foot rests. Although there are bicycle applications that use flat or platform pedals, for many cycling applications, especially high performance racing, flat or platform pedals may have several disadvantages. For example, platform pedals only allow a cyclist to harness power on the down-stroke, while it is not possible for the cyclist to harness any power on the up-stroke because the cyclist's foot is not attached in any way to the platform pedal. Moreover, flat or platform pedals usually have a large engagement body that may weigh much more than other types of pedals, thus increasing the overall weight of the bicycle, which may affect the performance of the bicycle.
In addition to flat or platform pedals, another style of pedal is known as strap pedals. Strap pedals are pedals that include a toe strap, and in some cases, a heel strap that straps around a cyclists shoe. Although the strap may allow a cyclist to harness some power on the up-stroke due to the fact that the strap(s) give the cyclist the ability to pull on the pedal during the up-stroke, there are several disadvantages with strap pedals. In particular, strap pedals can often cause injury if a cyclist crashes while riding because the straps may not allow the cyclist's foot to come free of the pedal in the event of a crash. Thus, the cyclist's ankle or legs may twist causing additional injury. Moreover, strap pedals are often cumbersome to adjust and put on, causing the cyclist to waste time when trying to adjust the straps around his or her shoe.
In order to avoid the disadvantages of the strap pedal, a cyclist may attempt to use what are known as clip-in or step-in pedals. Traditional clip-in pedals generally employ a special cycling shoe with a cleat fitted to the sole. The cleat may be configured to lock into a mechanism on the pedal, thus holding the shoe firmly to the pedal. Many conventional clip-in pedals lock to the cleats when stepped together firmly by the cyclist. Traditional clip-in pedals have several disadvantages. For example, some models of clip-in pedals require a user to manually move a lever in order to release the cleat from the pedal, thus possibly resulting in a low speed crash as the cyclist attempts to release the cleat from the pedal.
In addition to problems when trying to release the cleat from the pedal, many models of clip-in pedals also may require the cyclist to precisely place the cleat into a particular location in the pedal in order for the cleat to engage the pedal properly. Due to the difficulty in finding the precise location of the pedal, a cyclist may crash while attempting to engage the cleat to the pedal.
Moreover, conventional clip-in pedals can incorporate several parts, which make the clip-in pedals heavier and more expensive to produce and use. Moreover, the reliability of the clip in pedal may suffer due to the amount of moving parts, especially in cycling application where the pedals may become muddy, such as dirt bike racing our mountain biking. For any one of the above mentioned reasons, many cyclists simply do not attempt to use clip-in pedals, and opt for a flat or platform pedals and their associated disadvantages.
Thus, there are several disadvantages in the art of bicycle pedals that can be addressed.